Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Our land line is usually too 'noisy (static)' for a decent connection speed. Mice are always chewing up a box between home and town. Repairmen are now few and far between.
Ethernet won’t make anything better than WiFi unless you are talking long distances. The major factor will be the latency in your satellite internet. If Elon Musk’s new venture is successful you might want to look at it as an option. https://www.starlink.com/
We live in a rural area of very poor WiFi service, through a company called NATCO (Arkansas). The highest level of service we could buy was labeled as up to "4 mbps", although typically we get around 1.5 mbps download speed and often less than 1 mbps upload speed.
To use our iPhones with the WiFi service provided by NATCO, we did have to go into the iPhone settings & make a few changes (apparently to ensure that emergency providers have an address to associate with that iPhone).
We initially had endless trouble with our Smart TV - it was unable to consistently access YouTube, Netflix, etc. (we were trying to use the wireless connection to the modem). Eventually the serviceman told us that with very weak WiFi service,an ethernet (wired) connection from the WiFi router to our Smart TVwas essential. He was correct; the ethernet line reduced our problems by 95%. Note that you will find online guidellines that say Netflix requires 4 mbps, but we can still watch it with our average 1.5 mbps download speed.
The other key piece of info for people moving into rural areas is that an accumulation of dust in the phone wall boxes is often enough to make weak WiFi UNUSABLE. They finally cleaned these out, and the reliability of our WiFi was improved to the point where we could use it anytime we needed it.
Thanks, I appreciate all this input. Which is better for a family; DSL or cell phone internet? We grew up and currently live rurally, understanding sacrifice. We work from home and homeschool. So having the best internet available for our location is a priority. Viasat tells us low earth orbit may be available when the home is complete.
TOS means I can't post a link to another discussion board, but check out TractorByNet's rural living forum and do a search for "Cheap $20 a month Stand Alone Unlimited Rural Internet through AT&T Wireless."
Musk's low orbit internet is already in beta. I don't know if they are still accepting applications.
I disagree. Just pick a spot that has both as we do in the Sierra of CA. Wonders mountain scenery, wild country, great cell service and cable internet up to 150mps.
How much land do you own? How many creeks and ponds? How many outbuildings? How much annual income do you get off the place? Is it a dark sky site with no artificial light visible after sunset? Can you sit on the deck while the only sounds are the wind in the trees and the water in the creek?
Would you be willing to trade all that for streaming video?
How much land do you own? How many creeks and ponds? How many outbuildings? How much annual income do you get off the place? Is it a dark sky site with no artificial light visible after sunset? Can you sit on the deck while the only sounds are the wind in the trees and the water in the creek?
Would you be willing to trade all that for streaming video?
Not me! Can’t have it all, and that is a GOOD THING! Homogeneity is overrated.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. Very clear no static or fade out. ....:
